A Right To Exist

In July 2000, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to negotiate a peace offer made by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at Camp David. At the end of September the Palestinians then launched their second intifada, an outbreak of terrorism in the heart of Israel’s cities that continues to this day. The unprecedented violence drove Barak from office and brought to power the feared hard-liner Ariel Sharon. In RIGHT TO EXIST, Yaacov Lozowick, an Israeli historian, describes his evolution from a liberal peace activist into a reluctant supporter of Sharon. In making sense of his own political journey, Lozowick rewrites the whole history of Israel, delving into the roots of the Zionist enterprise and tracing the long struggle to establish and defend the Jewish state in the face of implacable Arab resistance and widespread international hostility. Lozowick examines each of Israel’s wars from the perspective of classical “just war” theory, from the fight for independence to the present day. Subjecting the country’s founders and their descendants to unsparing scrutiny, he concludes that Israel is neither the pristine socialist utopia its founders envisioned, nor the racist colonial enterprise portrayed by its enemies. Refuting dozens of pernicious myths about the conflict—such as the charge that Israel stole the land from its rightful owners, or that Arabs and Jews are locked in a “cycle of violence” for which both bear equal blame—RIGHT TO EXIST is an impassioned moral history of extraordinary resonance and power.

One Land, Two States imagines a new vision for Israel and Palestine in a situation where the peace process has failed to deliver an end of conflict. “If the land cannot be shared by geographical division, and if a one-state solution remains unacceptable,” the book asks, “can the land be shared in some other way?” Leading Palestinian and Israeli experts along with international diplomats and scholars answer this timely question by examining a scenario with two parallel state structures, both covering the whole territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, allowing for shared rather than competing claims of sovereignty. Such a political architecture would radically transform the nature and stakes of the Israel-Palestine conflict, open up for Israelis to remain in the West Bank and maintain their security position, enable Palestinians to settle in all of historic Palestine, and transform Jerusalem into a capital for both of full equality and independence—all without disturbing the demographic balance of each state. Exploring themes of security, resistance, diaspora, globalism, and religion, as well as forms of political and economic power that are not dependent on claims of exclusive territorial sovereignty, this pioneering book offers new ideas for the resolution of conflicts worldwide.

Based on oral tradition of the history and genealogy of Red Lake Reservation.

In this book, leading scholars re-examine the principle of national self-determination from diverse theoretical perspectives.

This book examines the ways in which the study and practice of international relations are misunderstood, both by scholars and politicians. It begins by examining critical errors in reasoning and argument which determine the way key issues in the field are discussed and explained. It then explores a number of case studies which are affected by these errors, including the legal status of the modern nation-state, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the idea of the Deep State, the relationship between the West and radical Islam, the impact of moral righteousness on historical understanding, and the role of class in modern Western politics.

In his unique and indomitable style, Dr. Michael Curtis brings yet another clear and concise pre�sentation of the reality facing Israel and the world. Utilizing the metaphor of the miner's canary, used to give warning to the presence of poisonous gas, Curtis deftly lays out for the reader how the attitudes, lies and false dealings of the international community are used against Israel, and suggests they are not isolated in their impact only on Israel. Rather, they are but a canary's warning to the rest of the Western, demo�cratic world of their own impending danger. To those who are unaware of the multifarious and insidious ways in which antisemitism rears it ugly head (and that includes all who receive their news through the major news networks), the information laid out by Dr. Curtis will have the initial impression of being surreal. For the sake of Israel and the rest of the free world, it is hoped that the initial impression is short-lived.

A Right to Exist: Whose Rights Are Right? traces the development of the understanding and expression of rights in American culture. By looking back to the history of the struggle for the recognition of civil rights, John Jeffrey traces their development and, along the way, explores the emerging confusion between rights and preferences. A Right to Exist establishes a foundation for rights both in the founding documents of the United Statesthe Declaration of Independence and the Constitutionwhile also tracing how these formulations depend upon Gods law as spelled out in the Bible. The works historical survey digs into the development of civil rights from the time of the Civil War to the present day. A chapter looks at how rights and preferences commingle in the discussion about abortion rights. The final chapter investigates the history of the rights of Jewish people. You may find yourself stuck in intractable debates with others over the priorities placed on preferences and rights. You might have questions about the direction taken by public policy discussions. You might desire to gain a clearer understanding of the true roots of the rights we enjoy in the United States. For answers to these issues A Right to Exist: Whose Rights Are Right? will serve as your guide for your exploration of preferences, choices, and rights.

The Case for Israel is an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Presents a passionate look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. Dershowitz accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts. Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel.

David Mamet's interest in anti-Semitism is not limited to the modern face of an ancient hatred but encompasses as well the ways in which many Jews have internalized that hatred. Using the metaphor of the Wicked Son at the Passover seder (the child who asks, "What does this story mean to you?") Mamet confronts what he sees as an insidious predilection among some Jews to exclude themselves from the equation and to seek truth and meaning anywhere--in other religions, political movements, mindless entertainment--but in Judaism itself. He also explores the ways in which the Jewish tradition has long been and still remains the Wicked Son in the eyes of the world. Written with the searing honesty and verbal brilliance that is the hallmark of Mamet's work, The Wicked Son is a powerfully thought-provoking look at one of the most destructive and tenacious forces in contemporary life.

A “provocative and seductive debut” of desire and doubleness that follows the life of a young Palestinian American woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities as she endeavors to lead an authentic life (O, The Oprah Magazine). On a hot day in Bethlehem, a 12–year–old Palestinian–American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgement will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother’s response only intensifies a sense of shame: “You exist too much,” she tells her daughter. Told in vignettes that flash between the U.S. and the Middle East—from New York to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine—Zaina Arafat’s debut novel traces her protagonist’s progress from blushing teen to sought–after DJ and aspiring writer. In Brooklyn, she moves into an apartment with her first serious girlfriend and tries to content herself with their comfortable relationship. But soon her longings, so closely hidden during her teenage years, explode out into reckless romantic encounters and obsessions with other people. Her desire to thwart her own destructive impulses will eventually lead her to The Ledge, an unconventional treatment center that identifies her affliction as “love addiction.” In this strange, enclosed society she will start to consider the unnerving similarities between her own internal traumas and divisions and those of the places that have formed her. Opening up the fantasies and desires of one young woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities, You Exist Too Much is a captivating story charting two of our most intense longings—for love, and a place to call home.